ANATHEMA — Falling Deeper (review)

Actually, Falling Deeper is not a studio album, it is a compilation of old songs newly rearranged in an orchestral and mostly acoustical way. Where Hindsight (2008) contains rearrangements of songs from their post-Eternity era (1996-now), Falling Deeper contains rearrangements of songs from their early days (1990-1995).

Three songs from the Crestfallen EP (1992) are featured, namely Crestfallen, They Die and Everwake. Sleep In Sanity and J'ai Fait Une Promesse are originally from Serenades (1993). The other songs are originally from the 1995-releases Pentecost III (Kingdom and We The Gods) and The Silent Enigma (Alone and Sunset Of Age).

When I initially started to write this review, I wanted to make song-by-song review, in which I wanted to make a comparison of each track with its original song. Although, it would give a wrong impression of the album. As a whole, the album is a beautiful and atmospheric piece, with acoustic arrangements and angelic female vocals. Some tracks, like Kingdom, are unrecognizable compared to its original. Is it better? Is it worse? Sometimes it is inevitable to make a comparison, but forget the past. This is the new sound of Anathema. Together with Hindsight and We're Here Because We're Here, Anathema are writing a new chapter in their career. A promising chapter and I can't wait to hear their next studio album.

Now back to reality. I just listened to this album and the last song, Sunset Of Age, reminds me how great The Silent Enigma actually was. I think I am going to listen to that album now.